While net-zero commitments remain important, discussions throughout the day suggested that the conversation is evolving rapidly towards climate adaptation, nature restoration and the wider role sport can play in driving societal change.

“Sport can truly lead by example, engage the public, and really change behaviour.”

That challenge from sports presenter, commentator and sustainability advocate Jess Silva set the tone for a conference that repeatedly returned to a simple but increasingly urgent question: what role should sport play in a rapidly changing world?

The answer, according to speakers throughout the day, is becoming impossible to ignore. Climate change is no longer a future threat to sport. It is already affecting participation, facilities, events, communities and business operations. From extreme heat and flooding to biodiversity loss and rising costs, the environmental challenges facing society are increasingly becoming challenges facing sport itself.

Held in Manchester – a city pursuing an ambitious target of becoming zero carbon by 2038 – the conference brought together voices from government, sport, environmental organisations and athletes to discuss how the sector can move beyond ambition and towards meaningful action.

Climate Change Is Already Here

One of the most powerful sessions of the day came from Emma Pinchbeck, Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), who delivered a stark assessment of the climate risks facing the UK over the coming decades.

Pinchbeck explained that organisations should now be planning for a climate that is approximately two degrees warmer by 2050, with increasingly frequent heatwaves, flooding, drought and water scarcity.

“We should be prepared for a climate that’s two degrees warmer by 2050,” she told delegates.

Perhaps even more striking was her observation that many people still struggle to comprehend what that means for the UK.

“The UK is going to be a hot country.”

According to the CCC, temperatures in parts of the UK could regularly exceed 45°C by mid-century, fundamentally changing how communities live, work and play sport. For sports organisations, adaptation is no longer a theoretical exercise. It is rapidly becoming an operational necessity.

That message was reinforced by Denise Ludlam, Environmental Sustainability Strategic Lead at Sport England, who highlighted the growing risks posed by extreme heat, flooding, drought, sea-level rise and changing seasonal patterns.

Ludlam explained that climate change will disproportionately affect many of the communities sport is trying hardest to engage.

“It’s already difficult enough to get those people active, but it’s going to get harder, so we need to be prepared for that.”

Her presentation highlighted Sport England’s work to better understand how climate hazards could affect participation, facilities and physical activity across England in the years ahead.

From Net Zero to Net Positive

The conference also provided an opportunity to hear more about UK Sport’s recently published sustainability strategy.

Speaking during the systems leadership panel, Sophie du Sautoy outlined a significant shift in thinking that moves beyond carbon emissions alone.

“One of the shifts we’ve made is to a concept of net positive environmental impact,” she explained.

While maintaining commitments around carbon reduction, UK Sport is now broadening its focus to include air quality, water quality and nature restoration.

“Carbon has become quite technical and actually impacts are wider than that.”

The strategy reflects a growing recognition that environmental sustainability must be considered holistically and that different sports will face different environmental challenges.

Alongside UK Sport, Sport England reaffirmed its commitment to embedding sustainability within funding and governance structures.

Tom Gribbin highlighted the importance of leadership throughout the sporting system and ensuring that sustainability remains integrated into future investment decisions.

The discussion suggested that sustainability is increasingly moving from the margins of sport into the mainstream of organisational strategy and decision-making.

Nature Joins the Sustainability Conversation

While climate change dominated many discussions, BASIS 2026 also demonstrated the growing importance of biodiversity and nature within sport’s sustainability agenda.

A panel featuring UK Nature Envoy Ruth Davis, Brentford FC’s James Beale and Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Claire Louise Chapman explored the deep connections between climate and nature.

Davis highlighted the scale of the challenge facing the natural world.

“Fifty per cent of the world’s ecosystems are either being lost or degraded,” she said.

She added that approximately “25 per cent of species” are currently facing the risk of extinction.

The figures provided a powerful reminder that climate and nature cannot be treated as separate issues. Instead, they represent interconnected crises that require coordinated solutions.

For sport, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity.

Beale outlined Brentford FC’s emerging nature strategy, which focuses on club sites, local communities and supply chains. Meanwhile, Chapman shared examples of practical conservation projects being delivered through partnerships with sports organisations.

The panel concluded with a call for sports organisations to use their platforms to reconnect fans and communities with nature while supporting wider restoration efforts.

Turning Strategy into Action

If one lesson emerged repeatedly throughout the conference, it was that strategy alone is not enough.

Katie Carr, Head of Environmental Sustainability at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), provided one of the strongest examples of how organisations can translate ambition into practical action.

“For us, environmental risk is operational risk,” she explained.

The statement was backed by compelling evidence. British racing has experienced a 93 per cent increase in fixture abandonments due to weather-related disruption compared with the previous decade, alongside significant increases in both waterlogging and hard-ground cancellations.

Through Project Horizon, the BHA has helped racecourses improve their sustainability capability and carbon reporting.

“What racecourses didn’t need was another strategy document. They needed practical support.”

Today, around three-quarters of British racecourses are measuring their carbon footprint, compared with just 8 per cent before the programme began. The initiative has also provided the industry’s first estimate of annual emissions, helping inform future decision-making.

Reimagining Major Events

Major sporting events also featured prominently during the conference.

Selina Donald, Sustainability and Accessibility Lead for Glasgow 2026 and Director of Sustainability at Trivandi outlined how Glasgow 2026 is attempting to redefine what a major event can look like through a more financially responsible and environmentally conscious model.

“Glasgow is not just a new edition of the Games; it’s a new way of delivering major sporting events,” she said.

Following Victoria’s withdrawal as host, Glasgow stepped forward to deliver a scaled-down Commonwealth Games that aims to demonstrate a different approach.

“We’re trying to prove that major events can be delivered with financial responsibility.”

The Games will feature no new permanent venue construction, extensive material reuse, renewable energy solutions and a strong focus on accessibility and inclusion. Organisers hope the event can provide a blueprint for future hosts seeking to balance ambition with affordability and sustainability.

Athletes as Catalysts for Change

The role of athletes in driving sustainability conversations was another recurring theme throughout the day.

A panel featuring Beth Durant, Jamell Anderson and Olivia Broome explored how athletes can use their platforms to educate and inspire future generations.

The discussion focused on the importance of sustainability education, the influence of social media and the responsibility athletes have as visible role models.

Durant highlighted the unique relationship athletes often have with supporters.

“We interact quite a lot with the fans,” she explained, describing how athletes can build personal connections through conversations, photographs and community engagement.

Those interactions, while seemingly small, create opportunities to influence attitudes and behaviours in ways that traditional sustainability campaigns often cannot.

As sports organisations increasingly look to engage fans around environmental issues, athletes may prove to be some of the sector’s most effective communicators.

More Than a Sustainability Conference

By the end of the day, one message stood out above all others.

Sustainability is no longer a specialist issue sitting on the edge of sport. It is becoming a strategic issue that touches participation, facilities, events, governance, investment, community engagement and long-term organisational resilience.

Reflecting on the discussions throughout the conference, BASIS CEO Dom Goggins challenged delegates to view sustainability not as a niche discipline but as a shared responsibility across the entire sporting ecosystem.

“Environmental sustainability cannot be solved by any one of us. We all of us here are the community because we are sport.”

That message perhaps captured the spirit of BASIS 2026 better than any other.

From climate adaptation and nature restoration to athlete advocacy and systems leadership, the conference demonstrated that sport’s sustainability journey is entering a new phase. The challenge is no longer whether organisations should act, but how quickly they can work together to protect the future of the games, events, venues and communities they serve.

As Manchester demonstrated this week, sport possesses a unique combination of reach, trust and influence. The opportunity is not simply to respond to environmental change, but to help shape the future itself.